


The Case of the Fledgling Assassin

by lovematsudas



Category: Death Note & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:14:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28029111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovematsudas/pseuds/lovematsudas
Summary: An alternate timeline in which L Lawliet has caught Kira; he is now working with his successors, Near and Mello, to solve a more minor case that the police have handed over to them.
Kudos: 7





	The Case of the Fledgling Assassin

_This is a timeline in which L Lawliet successfully identifies Kira as Light Yagami, with the help of two of his successors, Mihael Keehl and Nate River, both of whom were called in due to the difficulty of the Kira case as well as its supernatural elements. Both Death Notes have been destroyed, as well as all pages removed from them, and both Light Yagami and Teru Mikami have been arrested and are now in police custody under charges of countless cases of murder. Misa Amane is currently undergoing police questioning, still under suspicion of being the second Kira.  
However, this story now focuses on L Lawliet, who will henceforth be referred to as Ryuzaki, and his aforementioned successors, Mihael Keehl and Nate River, who will henceforth be referred to as Mello and Near. Due to the complications of the situation, Mello, Near, and Ryuzaki are presently working on a small case together. It was decided that such a circumstance would be for the best; worries of Ryuzaki’s lack of human interaction and cooperation were presented as well, and so the decision was made – Ryuzaki and his successors are to work together for the time being.  
Thus, I now present to you, the case of the Fledgling Assassin._

The task force headquarters were quiet as usual. The room was completely still – with the exception of three people, clustered in a rough circle beside the wall of screens.  
Ryuzaki shifted in his seat, looking at Mello and Near, who stood before him expectantly. The two had just entered at Watari’s instruction; they had been told Ryuzaki would fill them in on the details of the case upon their arrival.  
_We really have to work together again, huh?_  
That was the thought going through all three minds. Mello seemed especially unwilling to entertain the idea of their cooperation; he stood a few feet away from the other two, arms folded across his chest as he pretended to have no interest in the case details.  
Ryuzaki pulled his knees up to his chest, staring directly at Mello as he began to speak. “So, it seems yet another murder case is upon us,” he drawled, absently chewing at his thumbnail. “A serial murder case, that is. The police seem to think it’s unrelated to the Kira case, but—”  
“The police are idiots,” Mello snapped. “More murders at a time like this, right after Kira’s been caught, and they think it’s a coincidence? Bullshit.”  
Ryuzaki’s expression hardened. “I happen to share that same thought. The world has been thrown into chaos. What with the timing, there’s no way the murders aren’t connected in some way.” He shifted his gaze to Near. “Additionally… there’s the issue of who the killer seems to be targeting.”  
Near quietly pulled a chair over and sat in front of Ryuzaki, meeting his gaze. “Please, do tell us, Ryuzaki.”  
“The police themselves; those are the victims. Officers, detectives, the FBI… anyone who has direct ties to law enforcement.”  
Mello grabbed a chair as well, scooted it over – purposely colliding with Near’s chair along the way – and turned it backwards, sitting down and crossing his arms over the back of the chair. “So how many victims have there been so far?” he asked, pulling a chocolate bar out of his pocket and biting it off unevenly.  
Ryuzaki eyed the chocolate. “Mmm. Nine dead in total,” he replied. “It’s always one or two at a time, so I’m almost certain there’s only one killer… especially considering the causes of death.”  
Near twirled a strand of hair around their finger. “The causes of death? And those are…?”  
“Asphyxiation.” Ryuzaki observed Near’s finger closely, watching the white strand go round and round. “That is, for two of the victims. The other seven suffered multiple stab wounds to vital areas such as the head and stomach. Autopsies show that all victims were knocked unconscious by a small yet dense metal object before they were killed, which all but confirms that all nine murders were carried out by the same person.”  
Near nodded softly. “Do we know from the autopsies how those two victims were suffocated? Were they strangled? Or was their breathing blocked in some other way?”  
Ryuzaki nodded. “Strangulation. The autopsies have shown us that both victims’ necks display small but very prominent handprints. Consequently, I’m led to believe that our culprit is a teenager. A child’s hands could not produce the strength needed to suffocate two full grown men. Additionally, further evidence shows that there is almost no possibility that the killer is an adult, either. All murders have been carried out in the immediate area, meaning our suspect cannot drive.”  
“And?” Mello interjected. “Shouldn’t this be a piece of cake? It’s just some teenager. Why can’t the police solve this?”  
Disregarding Mello’s outburst completely, Near spoke up. “Perhaps it’s an adolescent female, due to the small size of the handprints? I’d say that’s more likely.”  
“Near, a guy’s hands can be small, too.” Mello seemed intent on being contradictory.  
His comment was ignored once again. Ryuzaki nodded towards Near. “I was thinking that as well. There’s no guarantee, of course, but the marks were small enough that I find myself doubting the possibility that they were made by a male.”  
Near thought for a moment. “Is it too early to start looking through possible suspects? With the information we have, narrowing down suspects and making a list of those most likely to be the perpetrator should not be too difficult.”  
“You’re exactly right.” Ryuzaki put one foot on the floor and rolled his chair over to his desk. “I had been waiting for you two to arrive so that perhaps we could split up the search evenly. I’ve found that tasks are much more easily accomplished when there are three people doing them instead of one.”  
At that, Near scooted up beside Ryuzaki. “Shall we begin, then, Ryuzaki?”  
“Yes, of course.” Both of them knew exactly what to do.  
They spent the next five or so minutes on their search before they remembered Mello, who was still sitting behind them, eating his chocolate bar loudly.  
Near turned their chair around slowly. “Mello. Won’t you join us?”  
Mello pointed his chocolate at them accusingly. “Since you and Ryuzaki are so smart, why can’t you just do it all yourselves?” he snapped back, his voice dripping with sarcasm.  
Near sighed. “Ryuzaki said it himself, did he not? The larger the group of people working together, the quicker a task is completed. Three people are more efficient than two.”  
“You’ve always been better than me, Near. You two together should damn well be able to solve a case this easy.”  
Near paused. “…Mello. You always wanted to be the best, didn’t you?”  
This caught Mello’s attention. “Yeah, and so what? This isn’t the Kira case anymore, Near.”  
“No. It’s not. But we solved the Kira case side by side. This is just another chance to prove yourself, no?”  
Ryuzaki interrupted them before Mello could answer. “Mello, please come help us with our search.” His tone made it quite clear he wasn’t going to take “no” for an answer this time.  
Mello glared at him. He smoldered for several moments before finally giving in. “Fine,” he growled, “but I’m doing it my way.” With that, he stood up, shoving his chair away, and headed for the door.  
“Mello.”  
The footsteps stopped. “I’m leaving, Near. I’ll be back once I’ve got clues.”  
“No.” There was a squeaking sound. Mello turned around.  
Near held a little Mello-shaped finger puppet between two of their fingers. They squished it, and the squeaking sound echoed again.  
“Don’t you see?” they asked softly. They held up their opposite hand, on which they wore two other puppets modeled after both Ryuzaki and Near themself. “We’re a team now, whether you like it or not. You cannot separate yourself from the group.” Near took the little Mello doll and stuck it on their finger beside the other two puppets.  
“I don’t care about your stupid toys, Near,” Mello snapped. “I’m not the helpy-helpy-teamwork kinda person. I do things on my own.”  
Near sighed. “We both know that’s a lie. You are quite independent, but when left completely alone, you’d lose your way much more easily than you’d like to admit.” Slowly, they stretched their hand out toward Mello and wiggled the finger that wore the Near puppet. “Work with us, Mello. For once, work in a team – not alone, and not as a leader.”  
Mello took his chocolate bar between his teeth and broke off a jagged piece.  
_Snap._  
“I’m tired of your stupid preaching, Near.” Despite this claim, he took a step toward them. “You’re not gonna give me a choice, are you?”  
“Of course not. We all agreed at the very start that it was best all three of us work as a team on this case.”  
_Snap._  
“Yeah? So why’s Ryuzaki working alone?” Mello retrieved his chair, which had fallen onto its side.  
Near reached up and began twisting their hair around their finger. “Perhaps if you’d help us, we’d be a bit more unified. Don’t you agree, Mello?”  
_SNAP._  
“Stop talking down to me like I’m some little kid!” Mello pushed Near’s chair several feet across the room and shoved his own right up next to Ryuzaki’s. “I’ll solve this goddamn case myself if I want to.”  
“Mello.”  
An unexpected interruption.  
Near clung to their chair, alarmed, as it rolled to a stop in the middle of the room. Then they spun their chair around to face Ryuzaki.  
Ryuzaki bit his thumbnail quietly, his eyes locked on Mello’s. “I’m afraid I can’t have you causing such a commotion in my headquarters,” he murmured. “If you two cannot work with me in a manner befitting of the world’s three greatest detectives, I’ll simply have to treat you like the children you really are.”  
The room went completely quiet. Subdued, Mello and Near dragged their chairs back to their positions at the desk and sat down in silence.  
“Why don’t you tell Near to mind their own damn business,” Mello muttered under his breath.  
Ryuzaki heard, of course. “Both of you are at fault. I hope you haven’t forgotten, Mello – you are fourteen years of age, and Near is thirteen. You’re both children, and I will be obligated to treat you as such if you can’t prove to me that you have the self-control to avoid these little quarrels.”  
_Squeak._ Near had crushed one of their finger puppets in their small fist. “Ryuzaki. I despise being treated like a child. I know that Mello does as well. I only ask that you allow us another chance to prove ourselves.”  
“Of course,” Ryuzaki purred. “I’m not completely heartless. If you both can work together on this successfully today and show me that you aren’t wholly incompatible, I’ll be compelled to allow our continued cooperation.”  
“Thank you.” Near’s gaze shifted. “So, Mello… What do you say we call a truce on your one-sided grudge?”  
“ _My_ one-sided—” Mello bit his tongue. “All right. Fine. Truce. Whatever.”  
“Glad to hear it.” Near smiled just slightly. They pulled out a little plastic robot toy and began to fiddle with it absently. “Shall we get to work, then?”  
Mello sighed and nodded. “Fine. For real this time.”


End file.
